Ad description
A paid-for Facebook post for Boardwalk Buy, a shopping website, seen on 5 July 2017, advertised a pressure washer and featured text stating “High Pressure Power Washer - Transforms A Garden Hose Into A Pressure Washer”. The sponsored post included a video demonstrating the product removing grime and paint from various outdoor surfaces including paving, buildings and a vehicle.
Issue
The complainant, who had purchased the product and said that it did not enhance water pressure or clean surfaces as advertised in the video, challenged whether the claim “high pressure power washer” was misleading and could be substantiated.
Response
Boardwalk Buy did not respond to the ASA's enquiries.
Assessment
Upheld
The ASA was concerned by Boardwalk Buy’s lack of response and apparent disregard for the Code, which was a breach of CAP Code (Edition 12) rule 1.7 1.7 Any unreasonable delay in responding to the ASA's enquiries will normally be considered a breach of the Code. (Unreasonable delay). We reminded them of their responsibility to provide a response to our enquiries and told them to do so in future.
We considered that consumers were likely to understand the claim “High Pressure Power Washer” to mean a device with water spray pressure and volume significantly higher than that of a normal hose, and with the ability to remove substances such as grime and paint from surfaces and objects. In the absence of adequate evidence to substantiate the claim, we concluded that the ad was misleading.
The ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 1.7 1.7 Any unreasonable delay in responding to the ASA's enquiries will normally be considered a breach of the Code. (Unreasonable delay), 3.1 3.1 Marketing communications must not materially mislead or be likely to do so. (Misleading advertising), 3.7 3.7 Before distributing or submitting a marketing communication for publication, marketers must hold documentary evidence to prove claims that consumers are likely to regard as objective and that are capable of objective substantiation. The ASA may regard claims as misleading in the absence of adequate substantiation. (Substantiation) and 3.11 3.11 Marketing communications must not mislead consumers by exaggerating the capability or performance of a product. (Exaggeration).
Action
The ad must not appear again in its current form. We told Boardwalk Buy to ensure that they held adequate evidence to substantiate their claims. We referred the matter to CAP Compliance team.
